Southwest national parks – Oh my!

In our tradition of taking traveling adventures, my sister, Betsy, and I signed up for a tour that would take us to five national parks in the Southwest, a part of the country neither of us has visited. Growing up, we had fond memories of a family trip to Yellowstone National Park and, later, trips to Yosemite and other national parks.

The only one of the five parks we had visited before was the Grand Canyon. Each of us at one time in our lives had checked it off as a bucket list item. We hiked to the bottom of the canyon, spent the night at famed Phantom Ranch, and hiked out the next day. Although we did not visit together, we both consider the Grand Canyon to be at the top of our list of most memorable and recommended experiences.

This trip included five parks in 10 days, including Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce, Zion, and the finale — two nights on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We knew we would face a variety of weather so we packed warm-weather clothes — shorts, tees, and wide-brimmed hats. We also packed fleece, puff jackets, and even gloves. We used them all.

We flew to Denver and then to Grand Junction, where we were picked up and taken to the Red Rim Lodge, near Moab, Utah, where we would spend three nights. Well named, the red rock cliffs soared up and above the Colorado River, which meandered past the lodge. The temperature reached close to 90 degrees the next few days as we explored Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.

We took a float trip on the river and looked up at the changing drama of the landscape. We learned from our guides that Redcliffs was a favorite filming location for some memorable movies of the John Wayne era. More recently, the second "City Slickers" movie was filmed there.

Arches, our first park, boggled our imaginations with its magical sandstone sculptures. We took a scenic route, stopping at the park’s main viewpoints and taking short hikes to get a closer look at the many arches, with a stop at the famous hanging rock.

The second park, Canyonlands, offered a different experience. High above its two canyons rising above the Colorado and Green Rivers, we were reminded of the Grand Canyon yet to come.

We then moved to higher elevations and Bryce National Park. What a difference a day makes. A dramatic weather front passed through bringing cooler temperatures. We settled into our rustic cabins and, to our surprise, woke up to snow the first morning. We bundled up and set out to see the famed canyon, dusted with snow, with its hoodoos (hoodoo is a tall, thin spire of rock). We were rewarded.

Leaving our surprise snow, we headed to the next park, Zion, which offered a sharp contrast to Bryce. We adjusted from looking down into deep canyons to looking up at dramatic cliffs. A narrow valley with dramatic “ups” offers lots of hiking opportunities. The most unusual hike offered a chance to walk down a river! The Narrows is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon, with walls 1000 feet tall and the river sometimes only 20-30 feet wide. River outfitters offer “dry bibs,” neoprene socks, and specialty hiking poles. We opted out of the river hike, but plenty of people suited up and met the challenge.

A highlight of the trip was our flight to the Grand Canyon. Flying in a small plane allowed each of us a window seat. We flew low and followed the Colorado River to our landing spot close to Grand Canyon Village. There is no better way to understand the scale and drama of one of our country’s most visited National Parks than to see it by air. We spent the next two days exploring the 13-mile rim trail. We enjoyed meals at the historic El Tovar hotel and canyon views from our rim-side rooms.

“Impossible to describe,” has been suggested by many a visitor to the national parks in the Southwest, and we would have to agree. As we visited each park, the differences became clear. Each offered distinctive characteristics — colors, shapes, and personalities that separated one from the other.

We felt blessed to have experienced so many parks in such a short time and would agree with writer and historian Wallace Stegner, who famously called America’s national parks “the best idea we ever had” — a uniquely American gift to the world.